# Berwick and East Lothian (UK Parliament constituency)

Berwick and East Lothian was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post system.

## History

The constituency was created in 1950 and abolished in 1983.

## Boundaries

Berwick and East Lothian covered the counties of Berwickshire and East Lothian. It was largely created from Berwick and Haddington and was replaced by East Lothian and part of Roxburgh and Berwickshire for the 1983 general election.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1950 | John Robertson | Labour |
| 1951 | William Anstruther-Gray | Unionist |
| 1966 | John Mackintosh | Labour |
| Feb 1974 | Michael Ancram | Conservative |
| Oct 1974 | John Mackintosh | Labour |
| 1978 by-election | John Home Robertson | Labour |
| 1983 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Berwick and East Lothian :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Robertson | 17,105 | 40.9 | |
| | Unionist | William Anstruther-Gray | 15,377 | 36.8 | |
| | Liberal | Anthony Stodart | 9,352 | 22.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,728 | 4.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,834 | 82.8 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Berwick and East Lothian :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | William Anstruther-Gray | 22,510 | 52.8 | +16.0 |
| | Labour | John Robertson | 20,152 | 47.2 | +6.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,358 | 5.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,662 | 83.8 | +1.0 |
| | Unionist gain from Labour | Unionist gain from Labour | Swing | +2.8 | |
General election 1955: Berwick and East Lothian :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | William Anstruther-Gray | 21,739 | 53.3 | +0.5 |
| | Labour | Penry Jones | 19,029 | 46.7 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,710 | 6.6 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,768 | 80.3 | −3.5 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +0.5 | |
General election 1959: Berwick and East Lothian :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | William Anstruther-Gray | 22,472 | 53.4 | +0.1 |
| | Labour | Penry Jones | 19,622 | 46.6 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,850 | 6.8 | +0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,094 | 83.2 | +2.9 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | +0.1 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Berwick and East Lothian :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | William Anstruther-Gray | 21,669 | 50.7 | −2.7 |
| | Labour | John Mackintosh | 21,044 | 49.3 | +2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 625 | 1.4 | −5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,713 | 85.0 | +1.8 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −2.7 | |
General election 1966: Berwick and East Lothian :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Mackintosh | 22,620 | 51.9 | +2.6 |
| | Conservative | William Anstruther-Gray | 20,931 | 48.1 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,689 | 3.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,551 | 86.1 | +1.1 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.6 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Berwick and East Lothian :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Mackintosh | 21,107 | 45.6 | −6.3 |
| | Conservative | J. Donald M. Hardie | 20,466 | 44.2 | −3.9 |
| | SNP | David Rae Fisher Simpson | 4,735 | 10.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 641 | 1.4 | −2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,308 | 83.7 | −2.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Berwick and East Lothian :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Michael Ancram | 21,234 | 43.4 | −0.8 |
| | Labour | John Mackintosh | 20,694 | 42.3 | −3.3 |
| | SNP | David Rae Fisher Simpson | 6,956 | 14.2 | +4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 540 | 1.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,884 | 85.8 | +2.1 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +1.3 | |
General election October 1974: Berwick and East Lothian :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Mackintosh | 20,682 | 43.3 | +1.0 |
| | Conservative | Michael Ancram | 17,942 | 37.6 | −5.8 |
| | SNP | R. Macleod | 6,323 | 13.2 | −1.0 |
| | Liberal | C. F. Lawson | 2,811 | 5.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,740 | 5.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,758 | 80.8 | −5.0 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +3.4 | |
1978 Berwick and East Lothian by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Home Robertson | 20,530 | 47.4 | +4.1 |
| | Conservative | Margaret Marshall | 17,418 | 40.2 | +2.6 |
| | SNP | Isobel Lindsay | 3,799 | 8.8 | −4.4 |
| | Liberal | Tam Glen | 1,543 | 3.6 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,112 | 7.2 | +1.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,290 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.8 | |
General election 1979: Berwick and East Lothian :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Home Robertson | 21,977 | 43.5 | +0.2 |
| | Conservative | Margaret Marshall | 20,304 | 40.2 | +2.6 |
| | Liberal | Tam Glen | 4,948 | 9.8 | +3.9 |
| | SNP | Allan Macartney | 3,300 | 6.5 | −6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,673 | 3.3 | −2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 60,919 | 82.9 | +2.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |